In January, Transportation for America released Making the Most of MAP-21, a 109-page handbook that explains the many changes in federal transportation policy — positive and negative — and outlines how local officials and advocates can help get involved and urge states to make sure that MAP-21 — Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century — money is used for the priorities of local communities. On Feb. 27, Transportation for America held a webinar focused on helping rural communities to take advantage of the MAP-21 changes. Among the speakers was Reconnecting America's President and CEO John Robert Smith.

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While the creative class is causing seismic shifts in the urban landscape — bringing investment, entrepreneurship and creative class jobs into downtowns and urban neighborhoods — shifts are also underway in the suburbs. For every decade since the 1920s the suburbs have grown faster than their city centers but this summer census data showed that between 2010 and 2011 city centers grew faster than suburbs in 27 of the nation’s 51 largest metropolitan areas. From 2000 to 2010, in contrast, only five metro areas saw their cores grow faster than their surrounding suburbs.
There is also anecdotal evidence of a similar shift in commercial real estate. The Wall Street Journal, for example, noted in 2012 that the big box chains Lowe’s and Best Buy are saddled with poorly performing stores “whose problems may have less to do with how they are run but more where they are located . .

Editor's Note: Metropolitan Areas across the United States are competing against each other to attract new business investment and an educated workforce – coined the "creative class" by Richard Florida. Many believe these are key ingredients to help regions remain economically resilient and strong in the 21st century. Yet, at a time when there is a rising demand for an educated workforce that meets the definition of the "creative class", we face the fact that one in four children under the age six are living in poverty which statistically leads to poor quality of life outcomes as they grow older. This excerpt from Are We There Yet discusses these disparate realities, raising the point that they are intimately intertwined, and that building complete communities is a way to address both.
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Much has been made in this country of the changing preferences of the younger generation of workers…

The Urban Land Institute's Terwilliger Center for Housing will host its conference, Housing Opportunity 2013, March 20-22, 2013, in Seattle. Housing experts from across the country will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing all sectors of the housing industry.

Editor's Note: This week’s excerpt from Are We There Yet? introduces a growing tension in America. The shift in the American economy from manufacturing and production to services and information has been decades long, and have major implications for our economic success. Attracting talent, through investing in complete communities is one method for region’s to capture some of that elusive “talent” that drives economic competitiveness, but the challenges facing the shrinking middle class (as those jobs that were once the backbone of the American middle class disappear) are real and growing.
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In order to address the growing income disparity, and stay competitive in this 21st century reorganization of markets, labor and resources, the American landscape is likely to change at least as much as it did in the years following World War II. Then the U.S. built a national highway system…

When you get annoyed with people you tell them to take a hike, or get outta town. In my case, I’d like to tell CNN to take a ride, in particular, a train ride; even more specific, a loooong train ride across America through big cities and small towns. I’d be happy to escort them.

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The Half-Mile Circles blog is a place to share information about recent research, innovations and other issues related to TOD and livable communities. We also invite experts to talk about their work. Combined with Jeff Wood's The Other Side of the Tracks, the Half-Mile Circles blog is an opportunity for a daily dose of TOD, and allows you to weigh in with your own opinions. Usual blog rules apply; please keep the comment threads civil. To submit an expert article, contact Jeff Wood